The ability to rapidly detect microorganisms is becoming an increasing problem in a wide variety of industries, includes the medical and food industries. For instance, rapid detection of a microorganism in the medical field may be crucial for proper diagnosis and treatment of an illness. Unfortunately, multiple etiologic agents may be responsible for a particular condition, thereby making it difficult to rapidly identify the cause of the condition. The need for selective identification of the type of microorganism is important for a variety of reasons. For example, the knowledge of which type of microorganism is present may lead one to identify the particular source of contamination and to choose an appropriate treatment. Most of the current diagnostic procedures involve culturing the microorganism for identification, a process that usually requires several days and often gives negative results. Not only is culturing a lengthy process, but certain pathogens (e.g., mycobacteria) are notoriously difficult to grow outside the host. Although “non-culturing” techniques have been developed, they are typically designed for only a specific pathogen. Thus, several assays are required to obtain a diagnosis, which are expensive and time-consuming.
As such, a need currently exists for a technique of rapidly and simply detecting the presence of microorganisms, and identifying the particular type of detected microorganism.